Is Google Making USupid By Nicholas Carr Summary

"Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

In his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr, an author and writer, tries to explain what the internet is doing to the human brain. According to Carr, it is no longer easy to read a book or a lengthy article because the internet has changed the way his brain and memory works. The author acknowledges that while the internet has made research and easy, it reduces the human capacity for concentration and contemplation. By deliberating how the internet and Google interfere with concentration and memory, Carr demonstrates how Google is making people stupid.

Carr argues the internet has been an excellent platform for “searching, surfing and adding information to the databases of the internet” (Carr 1). Carr points out that while having immediate access to a rich source of information can have many benefits,

He cites a research by scholars from University College London proposing that the internet is changing the way people “read and think” (Carr 1). According to the study, internet users are “hopping” form one information source to another without actually reading the articles. Carr also supports his argument by quoting the words of James Olds, a neuroscience professor, “the brain can reprogram itself” (Carr 1). This shows that the internet can change the way the human brain functions.

According to the article, the internet has led to a lot of superficiality in the way people think. Carr argues that this not only undermines the richness of life and sense of self, but it has adverse effects on deep thinking in the long run. Carr asserts that the human brain is very different from computer hard drives and refrigerators that can be stuffed with information or items. On the contrary, Carr argues that the human brain expands and that, “the more things one remembers, the more interesting your thoughts are likely to be” (Carr